Posh and Present (Revise)
by SomethingPrettyEvil
Summary: Dani is a veteran New Yorker and a musician who falls for a new Santana Lopez. Their differences in lifestyle and pasts come into play for this newfound relationship.
1. Chapter 1

Yo. I've decided to completely rewrite the original Posh and Present to be a little lengthier in time because looking through it, nothing happens that quickly or that drastically. I hope you can all bear with me with this one as I plan to make it rather long and descriptive. Thanks for the previous reviews and feedback, it was all greatly appreciated and I plan to integrate those ideas into this story.

I do not own anything Glee nor the songs that I will feature.

Reviews are highly appreciated.

* * *

Another day, another $11.50 an hour. Another day, another customer seemingly unhappy with his order because he didn't realize it would be that color. Another day, another new hire. Another day, not any other pretty face. I've seen her before, about a week ago when she applied alongside Rachel. She's tall with tan skin and legs that can go on for miles in those heels, which is probably illegal, but I'm working. She has no right to just strut in here and take my attention, having me spill salt by accident just to stare at her. She's easily forgotten though as the day goes on. It was just a one time thing, tons of people work here, I'll never see her again. It's ten minutes to twelve and she's still here, she's actually changed into our uniform, she's working, she's carrying a tray, she's falling over. I don't do anything, I just watch her drop the tray, our food now splayed over the floor and I'm actually a little angry. I have to clean that up.

"Dani," I hear. I know I hear it. I know what it's for. I raise up my hand to show that I'm listening and I quickly grab a broom and dustpan while this girl just apologizes frantically.

"It happens. You're new," I didn't mean it to sound as mean as it did. Well, I did. She shouldn't be serving people within the first three hours of working here, they should give her something else to do, "who's your supervisor right now," she stares at me horrified.

"Someone named Dani. They said I would meet him later in the day," I sort of want to laugh at how innocent she is about it.

"You'll never meet him because he's actually a she and as your supervisor, she want you to hang out near the kitchen and don't do anything until she gets there," she grasps the concept that I'm talking about me and all but sprints over to the kitchen area, passing Rachel who gives me a confused look. She walks over and begins to help me with the shattered plates and glasses, "is she your friend?" I ask and she nods.

"She applied about a week about a week ago and Gunther called her today to start working. He put her on serving in your section," well now I know who to be upset at, "but you've pretty much terrified her out of doing anything in your section again," she puts the last of the glass in a separate bucket to go throw out in the back and leaves. How am I supposed to react when someone drops a ton of food and plates on her first day? I finish cleaning and begin to apologize to the customer before going to the back to have the cook prepare their order again. That's when I see Santana placing back and forth on the other side of the kitchen hall.

"What is your name?" she whips her head at me and says 'Santana', "okay, Santana. I'm not mad at you, you didn't know," I grab an empty tray from the stack beside the door, "let me demonstrate what you did wrong," she nods her head and I stack empty plates and glasses on top of the tray, "the key is what is on the tray, where it is place, and how heavy it is," I separate the dishes evenly on the tray, "like this, it's best to lift it and place your hand in the center underneath it, putting the force in your wrist and holding the edge with your other hand," I show her and she nods, "now you," I put it down and step away for her to try. We do a few more examples like that before the food is finished, "okay, just stay back here. There are some condiment containers that need to be refilled over there. Just do that and I'll be back in a bit," I grab the food and head out to the table. I serve them before taking an order at a different table and returning to the back.

"I'm sorry that I'm making your day harder," she's transferring ketchup form the container bags into the squirt bottles.

"All of the employees were new here once. It happens," I take my seat in front of her and begin helping her, "once, I didn't realize that the food needed to be thrown out before put in the sinks and I clogged the water system," she opens her mouth in shock and begins to laugh, "we were all new once," she continues to squirt the ketchup container bags.

"Thanks for helping me, even though I know I'm bothering you," I smile and continue doing my part. The cook rings the bell, signaling the food is ready, and I get up.

"Should you need anything at all, just call me. I'm always somewhere here," which is true considering that I don't get out for another two hours and then come back at eight to start a graveyard shift, "I'm out in a bit but I have a graveyard shift tonight," she perks up and smiles.

"Me too," I smile back with my tray in hand, ready to leave the kitchen, "I'll see you around," I leave and almost smash into Rachel. I give her a hard lok before making my way over to the table and clocked out for my break, sitting at one of the bar stool.

"Spending time with Santana?" Rachel came up from behind, busying herself with cleaning the bar area, "I saw you teaching her how to hold a tray," she thought about what she just said and realized how stupid that was, "I saw you looking at her legs?" that sounded better, not any less creepy, but better.

"She's really pretty. No wait, rewind, that was lame. She's a beautiful woman. Of course I looked," she smiles this annoying smile, like she knows something, "I've only just met her. Her legs didn't tell me anything about her other than she waxes them because there are absolutely no razor bumps on those things," she wipes down the table and makes her way around to clean my side.

"You know, you can tell me if you like her," Rachel looks at me, paying no mind to the area she's cleaning.

"So that you can go tell her? I don't think this is high school anymore," I say, "but like I said, she's a gorgeous woman, I stand by that," I fold my arms and lean them against the table.

"Whatever you say, Dani,"she finishes and goes on to clean tables in her section before telling me, "it wouldn't hurt to try to get to know a little more," and leaving me to myself. I'd started here as a part time job once I moved out of my parent's home. I was lucky enough to fin this and a place simultaneously. Even luckier that my roommates moved out one by one and left the place to me to enjoy on my own. Eventually, I was promoted, again, and again. I've been here since, working late shifts and picking up random gigs here with my band on days that I'm off. I didn't lie to Santana, I'm pretty much always here. My phone vibrates in my pocket and I pull it out to look at the caller ID, Elizabeth.

"Hello?" I answer, I'm sure she's in the area. She has no other reason to call me.

"Hey there, babe. How are you? Are you working?" I roll my eyes and huff.

"Don't call me that and yes, I'm working, what do you want?" she makes a sound of feigned hurt and I can almost see the smile sprawl across her face.

"You're just going to have to get used to it, babe," she says it with as much arrogance as she can muster, "I miss you, when's the next time I can see you? When do you get out?" I sigh and rub the bridge of my nose.

"You're not going to. I told you that I needed time, you're not giving me that time," I can hear her get angry.

"I think four months is an adequate amount of time to reconsider. Just come back, baby," now she's beginning to make me angry.

"It's four months with about fifty intervals of you calling with this same conversation. Just go away, please," I can hear her begin the prologue to a huge speech she has prepared for this moment and I cut her off, "I'm off my break, bye, Elizabeth," I hang up on her and turn my phone off for the remainder of of my time there. I steal a few glances at Santana and think about what Rachel had said. Maybe it wouldn't be that bad getting to know Santana a little more.


	2. Chapter 2

I see that some of you have transitioned from the old story, so, thank you! Mind you, updating will be a little bit more difficult considering I now have 11 hour school days and 8 hour work days but I'll find a way; I've disappointed you all enough.

Reviews would be appreciated.

Again, none of this belongs to me minus the general story.

* * *

The following three days proceeded as they normally would for a person trying to get to know another person without necessarily talking to them or having any real interaction. It's pathetic, really, that the only times I've really spoken to her were to tell her that she's done something wrong or when I need her to complete a job, usually with me helping her. I have no idea how to not sound like an asshole to her anymore. Maybe that's my fate, I'm never supposed to make any friendly contact with her unless I'm berating her about her work ethics, but it's not like she's been here forever or anything. I see her come out of the kitchen with a tray in her hand, holding it strategically, just like I'd taught her, and she puts it down at her table perfectly. She glances at me and I smile, well, that's a start. She continues with her customers and continues on with the rest of the tables in her section.

"I'm catching you staring again," and Rachel has never, in the entirety of the life in her little body, scared anyone like she did in that moment. I want to punch her in the face because I knew she was there when she said it, I just wasn't expecting her, "I guess you really like her then," as if she didn't just kill my soul, "maybe talking to her would be a good idea," now is not the time.

"I mean, I would, but I've been pretty horrible to her since she started. Well, not horrible, but I'm her boss, her shift leader," I have my arms crossed, trying to hide away from Gunther, "I don't even know if that's legal here," I think about that again, "I don't even know if she's into me," I try again, "yeah, you're right," and she smiles in victory.

"Maybe ask if she wants to have lunch. You know, somewhere that's not here," that's not a bad idea, "or maybe a movie since you guys get out late today," that's good too, "or you can actually have a conversation with her and figure it out for yourself," she walks away when she notices Santana walking over, which in turn made me notice Santana. She sits at the bar in front of me, making realize that I'm not doing anything, and hurry to grab the cleaning rag to pretend to wipe down the bar.

"Slacking on the job? Aren't you supposed to be my boss?" I roll my eyes and she leans forward on the bar.

"I'm not really your boss so much as the chick your boss hired to yell at you when you do something wrong," she lets out a breath, raises her eyebrows and looks away. That was dumb, "no, wait, Santana. I don't mean to be such a douche to you, I really don't. On the list of things I wanted to accomplish today, being a total dick to you wasn't one of them," I continue to wipe down the already clean counter.

"I was beginning to wonder about that," her face remains unchanged, as though confronting me, "I was beginning to find you completely unapproachable. I almost started relying on Rachel for things," I widen my eyes and she laughs.

"No, that's not the best practice. I'm a seasoned server, I know better about what I'm doing. The curves, shortcuts, and secrets of waitressing, all here," I tap against my temple.

"Well, that's reassuring. Not really the secrets of the diner work but that you don't hate me," she gets up to continue her shift, "I'll see you around," she waves and starts to walk towards the door to the tables.

"Wait, wait, come back," she turns and smiles, eyebrow cocked, "let's go on break. I've been a butthole, let me make it up," I start removing my apron and motioning for her to remove hers, "an hour sounds about good, don't you think?" I say loud enough for Gunther to hear. He doesn't say anything so it must be okay. We hang up our aprons and clock out, making our way out the back door, leading into the dark alley to our freedom. Oh yeah, it's about 2 in the morning, where can we possibly go, "it's dark," I pursue my lips and smile, I look at her and I look at the sky, "and this is as far as I've gotten in my idea to take you out," she laughs and starts to head out to the street.

"You can still take me out. It doesn't have to be daylight," she says without turning around and I follow her, "although I find it nice that you call it 'taking me out," oh man, I did say that, "and here I thought you didn't like me," we're at the street, looking every which way because well, everything is open, and everything is packed.

"Now, let's get to know each other. What do you like? Loud and crowded or quiet and empty?" she leans against the diner wall and ponders the question.

"We're getting to know one another, so, quiet and empty. I think I might know a place," she starts heading down the sidewalk and I follow. She starts to walk a little faster, then looks back at me, telling me that it wont be much farther now. We end up in this little coffee shop by my apartment and we seat ourselves, not bothering to get up to order anything, "I thought this would be nice. It's a nice atmosphere and the employees are friendly. It's not as loud as most places here, from what I've seen," she leans forward on the table and smiles.

"I know the place well. I actually live in that building there," I point across the street, "it's refreshing to know I'm not the only person I know who comes here," and then I think a little deeper about what she said, "what do you mean when you say, 'from what I've seen'? That's not something someone here would say," that sounded pretty creepy. What do you mean by 'I need to take a shit?'

"I'm not from around here. Well, this state. I came here from Lima, Ohio. Actually, Rachel, Kurt and I all come from there," she's stuttering over her words and it's a little too adorable not to notice.

"Just because or for a bigger reason?" I ask. I'm not sure if I'm prying or not, "you don't have to answer that if you don't want to," I smile and look her in the eye.

"No, no, it's okay. The others came for school, they go to NYADA. I came after the fact, I wasn't all too happy back at home and figured I needed a change," well now I know what not to ask next, "and by all too happy, I had gotten out of a relationship that I just didn't grab too tight of a hold of," never mind, she answered it all by herself.

"That's understandable. People make us do things we wouldn't normally do. Thank you for telling me," I stand up, "would you like anything? I'm the one who asked you out, might as well pay for it too," I stop for a moment, "that sounded a little douchey, didn't it?" she laughs and gives me her order and I return shortly after with the drinks.

"It's funny how you;re so far the only person I've met here who I've told that story to. How vague it was," she sips at her coffee, "so actually, thank you for listening," I smile and nod my head.

"It's my pleasure. I want to get to know you a little better, you're a beautiful woman," that's exactly what I wanted to say but not in this moment. She shies away and smiles at the floor, "that's not what I meant to say," she looks up at me, "no, wait. You are beautiful, don't get me wrong," she smiles and looks at me confused, "I'm just going to shut up," I gulp down my steaming hot coffee, trying my best not to physically show how much pain that had caused me.

"You're so cute," she says. My heart pounds in my chest at that. Score one for Dani, she thinks I'm cute. I mean, I just called her beautiful and she came back with 'cute,' but I'm cool with that. It doesn't make me feel like a baby kitten or a middle school boy. Her body stiffens and her eyes widen not even moments later, "oh wait, I didn't mean it... I'm not hitting on you because like, I don't know... what I mean is," she's flustered and trying to figure out what she wants to say and I'm so confused that I just nod my head and purse my lips.

"If what you're trying to say is that you didn't mean to say that because you don't know my sexual orientation then no apology is needed. I like girls, it's what I prefer," I share a smile with her newly found relieved look.

"Well I'm glad that ended up getting cleared up. I thought I was going to have to wonder forever," she glances at her watch and stands, "we should get going though. It's a bit of a walk back and I can't get in trouble on my first week," I stand up as well and we make our way out of the shop. I ponder on the idea before grabbing her hand in mine and meeting absolutely no opposition. She looks at me and smiles and we walk back to the diner, hand in hand, not speaking a work, until we get there, clock back in, and put our aprons back on. The rest of this shift will be interesting.


	3. Chapter 3

Oof, finally, a third chapter. I've been so worked up because of not having any free days anymore that I've spent any and all free time just sleeping. I skipped class today to just relax and catch up on my reading/writing and this is what I've come up with. I sort of want to develop Dani a little bit more in this chapter so it really just focuses on that. I really do hope you all enjoy it and thank you for taking time out of your day to read it.

Reviews are appreciated.

None of this belongs to me minus the general story.

* * *

And that's exactly how it's been this entire time. Quick glances, shy flirtation, brief touches, that's it. It's been a whole two weeks and we haven't progressed any further than holding hands last week. It's pathetic, I'm really pathetic. I sort of turn to mush when I see her and words just don't exist anymore. We're working a night shift together again, we're actually pretty dead at night. I'm cleaning tables, she's helping the few people who are still here, and I sort of wait for her. Man, she's so beautiful and I just want o put her in my pocket and make her mine for always. What's made it better is that she's a singer, like she can actually sing, not just says that she can. She proved it at a karaoke night we hosted and I've never been so blown away. I watch as she finishes helping out the last table in her section and I take a seat at the table I'm cleaning, waving her over.

"Hey, shift leader," she smiles, taking a seat across from me.

"Do you watch Netflix? Like, actually watch it for it's movies and shows or do you rent out movies from it?" I ask and she looks at me confused and smiles.

"I didn't think anyone actually used the rental feature," she crosses her arms and stares at me, "I do watch it, why?" she's still confused.

"Well, I have in mind a list of bad movies that we will be seeing together in the near future," words, words please form, "like together," not those words, "I already said together. Words are hard," she laughs at me and reaches over the table, grabbing my hand.

"I'd love to watch bad movies with you, together," she leans over the table, her hand still over mine.

"I really like you," she rubs her thumb over my hand and I sort of die a little, "like a lot," she smiles, "words really are hard," she gets up when she hears her table call her and gets up quickly, shooting an apologetic smile at me. I should be finishing up my work. There's still a few more employees around, waiting for their shift to end.

"I saw that, Dani. Aren't you two just adorable," and one of those employees is Rachel, "why don't you ask her out already? I took her a rough talking to for her to finally tell you that she likes you!" now I know where that came from.

"I like her too, I really do. It's just, I don't really know what to say. I don't really know how to ask her. I invited her over to watch movies but I don't really have a definite day for that," I cross my arms and Rachel sits across from me.

"I'll cover for you," she says and suddenly I'm skeptical, "I'll get Kurt to cover Santana and I'll cover you. We need the hours anyway," she says. That's not a good idea at all. I'm the shift leader, what if something happens? "Don't worry about anything happening, just do whatever it is you wanted to do," she looks down at her hands and smiles, "Santana really deserves to be happy now," why did she say that? What does that mean? What kind of sorcery is Rachel playing at?But it's set in stone, I didn't reply to her fast enough. She's already up and pretty much running at Santana with her phone in her hand to tell her of this 'wonderful' news. Santana looks over Rachel's shoulder at me, confusion plaguing her face. I wave her over and Santana finishes what she's doing before coming to my table.

"I guess we can watch that movie now," she smiles and turns red, "well, if now is a good time," she sits down and removes her apron.

"Now is a great time," she sets the apron on the table and laughs, "though it has to be at your place because I don't think I can look at Kurt today," I laugh and I get up.

"That's perfect. I live right here anyway, you remember," I stand next to her side of the booth and extend my hand, "let's clock out and start walking," she grabs my hand and we head to the kitchen area to clock out, hanging up our aprons in the process. We leave out the back door and make our way down the sidewalk to my apartment. We spend the walk in silence until Santana breaks it.

"So what will we be watching?" we still have a couple of blocks to go.

"If I tell you, will you promise not to laugh?" she smiles at me.

"No, I can't promise that," well at least she's honest.

"The Toxic Avenger," her smile widens until teeth are shown, "but hear me out, it's this kid who gets bullied and falls into a vat of toxic waste and becomes this huge radioactive super hero who saves people," I probably look really serious because she's laughing at me. Full on, belly laughing at me. I roll my eyes and let go of her hand, tucking my hands under my arms.

"Oh come on, don't be like that," she tries sliding her hand in my arm but the space is too small, "please, I just want to hold your hand," she pouts, still walking beside me.

"Say you're sorry to the Toxic Avenger," I make no facial expressions and she begins to think I'm serious, "say you're sorry or else you can't come over," she really begins to look upset, "no, no, I'm sorry. I didn't think you'd take me seriously," she slaps my shoulder and crosses her arms, playing the same game as me, "fine, no hand holding at all," I stick my hand in my pocket before she finally gives up and slips her arm in mine, walking the rest of the way like that. Just playing, being ourselves, disliking the Toxic Avenger because one of us has never seen it, no big deal.

"Fine, sorry," she smiles and I give her my hand before walking into my building, "I just realized, do you have any roommates? I mean, I'm not intruding in their space, am I?" well, I guess she'll be happy to know that I'm pretty much always alone here.

"Nope, no roommates," I unlock the door to my apartment, "just me by my lonesome," she looks at me shocked, "well, I had roommates, I didn't just wing it when I got here. They've just slowly filtered themselves out and now I don't have any. Why, are you interested?" she rolls her eyes and invites herself in, looking back while continuing her trek through my house.

"This is nice. Like, really nice," I'm glad she's impressed. It took forever to get it the way that it is," I pass her and walk to my tv, turning on the pc that I have connected to it, "oh wow, how romantic," she sits down on the couch adjacent from the tv.

"You can just get out if you aren't impressed," I smile as I scroll through the Netflix website to find the movie.

"I'm a lot more impressed than you might think. I'm really jealous of this all," she extends her arms to imply the apartment.

"I'm not that impressive. You don't even know me," I walk over to the couch with the wireless mouse in hand, the movie beginning in the background.

"I intend to get to know you. I intend to get to know all about you," I smile and wrap my arm around her shoulder. Cool, I'm cool, this is cool, this is nice. I'm not freaking out, I'm not going completely insane that this beautiful girl just agreed to go to my house and watch a terrible movie with me. I'm not completely obsessing over the fact that she ditched work to be with me, even though she knows nothing about me. The movie goes on and Santana doesn't talk but rather watches the film, intensely at that. A little while later, the credits roll and she looks at me, ready to burst into laughter, "it really was as bad as I had imagined," she grabs the mouse from my hand and begins to scroll through, "let's see if there's a second one," she looks intensely at the screen, she literally wants to see if there's a second movie. I'm really liking this girl.

"I really like you," I say, she stops what she's doing and looks at me.

"I'm glad we're on the same page. You had me worried at the diner earlier," she doesn't look at me as she scrolls through the Netflix pages. She's just scrolling through, looking through my instant queue and looking at previously watched movies. Man, I really like this girl but I have no idea what to do. I've screwed something up once, I really don't want to go doing that again. But what have I got to lose, except, you know, this gorgeous girl sitting next to me sifting through all these lame movies. I've got to do something, I've really got to plant my feelings into her. Just do it, just do it, just like, I don't know, say something or do something. But nothing comes out, nothing is said, nothing happens. She turns around after picking a movie and stares at me.

"Are you okay? You look like you're thinking really hard," she grins and nods her head at the screen, "I've put RoboCop on. I figured you might enjoy that," she leans back and crosses her arms. She crosses her arms. Oh no, she crosses her arms. She can't like me if she doesn't give me an opportunity to physically show her. I've got to do something, something subtle, something nice. I wrap my arm around her back and she leans into me. Okay, that's a good sign; that's cool. She looks up at me and smiles. I know what this means, I know what needs to happen. I lean down and connect my lips with hers and I can feel her smile into the kiss. She starts to laugh and I pull away, horror on my face, "no, no, you're really cute," she kisses me again and leans into me to watch the movie, "let's finish this though, I've never seen it before," and I've never been more happy to see a man have his limbs shot off before.


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry for taking so long with this chapter. My classes have just gone a little overboard with the coursework and even more so with this being my first semester with a teaching course. Nevertheless, I've finally finished this today. I hope you guys enjoy it.

Reviews are appreciated.

None of this is mine minus the general story.

* * *

I woke up with this insane weight on me, which I should immediately take back considering it's Santana. Asleep. On top of me, at, I look over at the wall clock, six in the morning. She's not even laying on me, she's more sprawled on top of me, arms and legs sort of everywhere and her shirt rising up since she's at a slope. She's so cute really, but it isn't cute how I have to pee but I can't without having to wake her up. So, I'll just sit here, patiently, until either she wakes up or I pee here anyway. About a half hour passes before I decide to slowly move around to wake her up so that she would feel like she woke up on her own and fortunately, it worked. She wakes up and looks over at me, hair everywhere, makeup running all around her eyes.

"Good morning, sunshine," she smiles the most gorgeous smile I've ever seen and I can't help but laugh, she's a mess.

"Good morning," I smile, "it's almost seven in the morning," she rolls her eyes and lays back down on my chest, tucking her arms in, "did you want to use my shower?" I can see and feel her nod her head. She continues to lay there, not moving, until I start sifting my hand through her hair, "we can grab something to eat," she raises her head, put her arms out under her chin.

"Yeah, we can do that," she gets up, followed by me and we stretch for a moment before I walk over to my room to get a towel for her.

"Here's a towel," i hand her the towel and walk over to the bathroom, "the shower knob is a little weird, you pull it out, then up, and then you can adjust the temperature," i demonstrate it for her, "the deodorant is under the sink along with anything else you might need minus a toothbrush. I only have mine and I apologize but that's mine and you better not put your teeth on that," she laughs at me and nods her head. I leave her to the bathroom and wait to hear the shower head turn on before making my way to the couch area to try and find my phone. I have to look at my phone a few times before I can process the fifty text messages and missed calls on my phone, all from her. I scroll through my unlock screen just to see what they all contain, meaningless banter, name calling, apologies, more apologies, jealousy, another apology, anger, this girl is just full of emotions. I open the phone and open her conversation, only to get rid of all the notifications. I can hear the shower go off and suddenly, Santana's voice fill the apartment.

"Dani, I don't have any clothes," oh yeah, those are things. I go to my bedroom dresser and pull out a pair of shorts and a shirt, anything for her to put on to make her comfortable on her way back home and knock on the bathroom door.

"They're out here for you," she opens the door a crack and sticks out her hand, taking the clothes. She finishes getting dressed and waits for me while I take my shower. I finish showering and I can ere the distinct sound of my ringtone, over, and over, and over again until I get out of the bathroom and check the phone for myself.

"It's been going off since you got in there. She must really want to talk to you," it was Elizabeth, again. Another seven missed calls and an unimaginable amount of text messages, all of which I hope Santana didn't see.

"Yeah," is all I can say while I dry my hair and brush out the knots, "did you want to go somewhere to eat first or did you want to go to your place first and you can get into something more comfortable," I can see that she doesn't like that I avoided the question, but now really isn't the time to be talking about her. her f

"Let's go to my place first, we can get something to eat afterwards," she gets up and we make our way out of the apartment. I don't think either of us really know what to do with one another now. The morning hasn't necessarily been all that great and now we're walking next to each other in silence. I take contemplate the idea before slithering my hand in hers, which she takes happily. She grips onto it tightly and leans over to kiss my cheek. Okay, at least she isn't mad or anything. We make it to her apartment, which is fortunately void of Kurt and Rachel, and she leaves me to myself while she finishes up what she couldn't at my house. I use this time to look over the text messages. It's nothing worth being upset over, nothing worth worrying over, but it is annoying how persistent she is about this all. Santana comes out with a different pair of pants, her hair and teeth brushed, and the same shirt that I had lent her.

"I think this is something I could easily get used to," she rolls her eyes and heads over to the kitchen and leans against the counter.

"What are you in the mood for?" she asks, roaming through her phone for cheap places in the area.

"Something small. I really only want a coffee. Maybe toast," I put down my phone and stare over at her, "did you want anything specific?" I get up and stand behind her, wrapping my arms around her waist, "we're really bad at this, aren't we?" I feel her body shake with a giggle and she turns her head around to face me.

"We'll figure it out," at that, I kiss her, and we make our way out again, hand in hand, looking for something that would fit both of our wants. We finally agree on a small coffee shop a few blocks over and sit in a more secluded area of the store, as if it wasn't secluded to begin with, "who's Elizabeth?" I choke a little on my coffee at the question. I mean, it was bound to happen, but I wish I would have been the one to tell her instead of my phone.

"My ex girlfriend. We dated up until about four months ago due to complications. It lasted about three years," she perked up at that, "she wasn't what I wanted anymore and I couldn't keep lying to her," Santana nodded and sipped her coffee. It in that moment that I decided to cross my legs, hitting the table, which in turn hit her, and knocked her coffee out of her hands and all over herself. I had my mouth open as I saw the whole thing transpire. She's just looking at herself, completely in shock over what happened. She then just starts laughing, grabbing the attention of everyone in the store.

"We really aren't any good at this," her laughing makes it hard not to laugh as well. She stands up and starts to remove the shirt, revealing the fact that she's wearing and undershirt. She hands me the shirt and I smirk at her, "this is what's going to happen," I sit back as everyone watches what's happening, "we're going to go to your house and wash this," she tosses the shirt at me, "then we're going to go one a date, a real one, a movie or lunch or something," she grabs her things and motions for me to stand up as well, "and when we come back to your apartment, you're going to take the shirt out of the drier and fold it while we figure this thing out," I stand up and smile at her, "and we're going to get better at this," she grabs my hand and leads me out of the coffee shop, eyes set on us.

"I think this is going pretty well, actually," we're just walking along, smiling at one another, hand in hand. The moment was ruined with my phone vibrating in my pocket, knowing it was Elizabeth. Santana knows it too, and shoots me a sad smile before nodding for me to take it, "hey," I answer into the phone.

"I've been calling you all day," was all she said, very matter-of-factly, "you didn't even bother to send me one quick text message?"

"You know very well that it wouldn't have been 'one quick text,' as you so simply put it," I can hear her huff as I walk in circles. Man.

"Baby, come on, you know what I mean," what happened? Not mad? How surprising, "look, we can go out today and we don't have to be mad at each other," what?

"I'm going to be busy today. Maybe some other time," we argue back and forth like that for a little bit, Santana just waiting patiently, she really shouldn't be so cool about this. Or maybe she should be, so that this can last a little longer. Elizabeth says something and I hang up on her, shut my phone off, stick it in my pocket, and grab Santana's hand once again.

"She's going to do that often, isn't she?" I sigh and nod my head.

"So long as I'm not with her, she thinks she has reason to believe that I either hate her or decided to move on," she nods her head in understanding, "and the latter is the one that worries her the most," she nods again.

"Can I say that I don't like her?" I laugh and kiss her cheek.

"You just don't like her now. Wait until you meet her," she goes wide eyed and stares at me, "yeah, as long as I'm with you, you're definitely going to meet her," and we continue our way back to my apartment.


	5. Chapter 5

One day, I will be the update queen. That day isn't today.

Reviews are appreciated.

None of this is mine minus the general story.

* * *

It's been a few days of Santana and I doing, whatever it is that we're doing. We hang out all the time and we kiss and hold hands, but that's it. Even with that, it's not like we do that very often. It's like we're friends who kiss sometimes. I'm not sixteen anymore, I'm not new at this, I know what I want and I'm pretty sure she does as well. So, why is this just not going anywhere? It's scary, it's really frightening me how this isn't moving, but I like her so much. I really do. I know nothing about her, really nothing, yet I want to be with her all the time and talk about everything and anything. Maybe I am sixteen, maybe I don't know what I'm doing. I sit around my apartment just thinking about this for a bit more before my phone goes off and thankfully, it isn't Elizabeth.

"Hey, gorgeous," I answer to Santana.

"Hey, what's up?" aww, she called just to talk. Now's my chance, I can tell her what I'm feeling, "are you going to be busy today?" I blurt out, smooth.

"Um, no. I'm free. I'm free now actually. Did you want to do something?" she asks, man, that wasn't smooth at all.

"Yeah, that's what I want to talk to you about. But it's not something I want to say over the phone. Do you want to meet me at the coffee shop from the other day?" she hesitates in her answer before finally saying yes. We exchange goodbyes and I swear I have never gotten ready so fast in my entire life. I all but sprint over to the store and find a seat way before Santana probably even thought about either walking or taking a cab. I finally see her through the window and we wave at one another. She sits down and we just stare at one another for a bit.

"Not going to lie, but you're making me nervous," she half smiles at me.

"I don't think it's as nervous as you're making me," she cocks an eyebrow at me, "I really like you. I really do," she smiles and then her face changes, "no, no, this isn't anything bad. I just, I don't really know what's going on," she smiles and nods her head.

"I like you too. I have to say, though, I don't really know either. I like spending time with you. I like kissing you," she smiles a little sadly, "but then there's this whole thing with my Brittany and your Elizabeth," she looks down, "I really like you, though. That's the point i want to make," she crosses her arms, having had her say.

"Well, good. Will you be my girlfriend?" she widens her eyes and smiles at me, "and we can get to know about your Brittany and my Elizabeth together," she smiles and nods frantically.

"That was probably the least romantic way that's ever been asked," she laughs at me and I give the straightest face.

"Well then never mind. I don't want you to be my girlfriend anyway," I lean back and cross my arms.

"That was pretty lame," an employee says from across the store. It's as though no one is on my side with this. Santana laughs and leans over, motioning me to give her my hands.

"Of course I'll be your girlfriend," I can hear that same employee talk about how lame we are while I smile stupidly.

"Well good, because today's band practice and I can actually introduce you as my girlfriend, which would have been weird if you weren't since I already told them you were," she rolls her eyes at me and leans across the table to kiss me.

"Well, that would have been awkward, I'm glad I said yes," she looks down at our combined hands, "but just so you know, she's not my Brittany. Not anymore," i stare at our hands and beam at her. What am I supposed to say to that? 'Oh yeah, I know. I just asked you out and she broke your heart like a year ago or something so technically you're mine now'. I follow my hands to my wrist and look down at my watch; practice starts in fifteen minutes.

"Oh fuck, we have to go now. Practice is starting," I get up quickly and sort of drag her with me, her just following along. We leave the coffee shop and all but run to the practice space, well, she's just following me. I lead us down a few blocks until we hit an apartment building. Yeah, it's a really low budget practice space. She stares at it for a moment before just accepting that I'm going to be taking her inside. We fly up the stairs until we hit apartment 522, or otherwise known as, Seth's apartment. I let myself in, much to Santana's surprise, and follow the hallway to a vacant room with music equipment set up and four men standing around, "hey, I'm here," I raise my hand still intertwined with Santana's, "with Santana. I told you she was a real person," Santana rolls her eyes and greets them, "this is my band, Seth, Peter, and Peter's brother Saul. The older guy is our producer. Guys, formally, this is Santana, my girlfriend," Seth went wide eyed while the others pursed their lips and looked down. I looked at Santana and she looked back. Cool, we're both pretty stuck on this now. Peter catches my attention and points behind him. Looking over his shoulder, there it is, there she is, there's Elizabeth, chilling, sitting down on the couch, bass guitar in hand, plugged straight into the amp.

"I figured you'd be at Seth's again. I mean, it's not like you answered your phone," I smile at her and wave, no use in arguing with her while everyone's watching. I squeeze Santana's hand and it still hasn't really registered yet who this person is. But the second squeeze, I think she gets it now. She doesn't say anything though, a little strange for someone like Santana. Well, according to stories that Rachel's told me. The others find interest in something among themselves and leave Elizabeth and I just staring at one another, me holding hands with Santana. Elizabeth looks down at our hands, "and now I see why," she sets aside the guitar and makes her way towards us, "I've missed you, that's all. You can't say you haven't missed me too," she gets a little too close for me and I step back a little.

"I'm not going to argue with you," I say. I can feel Santana's stare on my face.

"Don't let me get in the way, baby," she kisses my cheek and lets go of my hand, "I'll go mingle with your friends," she turns around and struts away. But I mean, she STRUTS. Long legs making the effort to make her ass sway as she walks the ten paces to the other side of the room where she's forced to talk to these people. Elizabeth smirks and leads us to a different room in the apartment, across from where the others were. When we get into the room, she shuts the door and leans against it.

"Finally, alone time," she walks up to me and grabs my hips, to which i push down, "baby, come on," she looks sincere about the fact that I pushed her arms away, "you can't possibly say you haven't missed me," I walk around her.

"You know, Elizabeth. I always knew you were a little extreme, a little huge, a little dramatic. But, you know, this, this that you're doing. This is weird," I cross my arms and wait for her response.

"You're just so cute when you ramble like that," she licks her lips and bites her tongue, "baby, that's just a little fling you have going on. It can't cover the two years we have together," I scoff.

"Stop calling me 'baby', You can't win. Not this time," she smirks and crosses her arms.

"When this is all over, and this time is over. I'll be here for the next time," she walks past me and opens the door, leading herself out, but turns around for a moment, "this isn't about me winning or losing, babe. This is about you realizing what you did wrong," she leaves the room and walks towards the group, waving goodbye at them all and then making her exit. I roll my eyes in the moment that Santana turns around and she smiles at me, a genuine, 'sorry, man,' smile. She walks up to me and rubs down my arms.

"I've met her. I don't like her," she purses her lips and nods.

"Well, I did warn you. With me, you're definitely going to meet her. What's great is that you only met a fraction of her and even then, you didn't even meet her," Santana moves her hands up to cup my face.

"There's always next time," she kisses me and walks past me to the couch where Elizabeth was sitting, waiting for our practice to begin.


	6. Chapter 6

I haven't written a thing in the last four days due to a vacation I took to North Carolina. I met up with a few other writers/poets to share poetry and short stories and I was inspired to write a short poetry book for the near future. I'll keep my updates to at least once a week from not on unless stated otherwise.

Reviews are appreciated.

None of this belongs to me minus the general story.

* * *

I got home, way after the practice, and way after having dropped off Santana back at her loft. But by way after, I mean it's close to three in the morning, and I need to work tomorrow. But I can't sleep. I've had trouble sleeping since I got home and I know it's Elizabeth's fault, I know it's the whole point. I get it. She's making my life miserable and it's totally working. I'm tossing and turning, real violently, to try and tire myself out so I would have to fall asleep, but lo and behold, a phone call comes through and I can hear it blaring in my direction from the bedside table next to me. There it is, Elizabeth's name blaring from the light on my phone, and I silence it and just stare. I stare as it shuts down, followed by the ring of a text message; the fiftieth in a series that she's writing in my honor. No, not really that many. I make her out to seem like a real bitch, she's texted me about five times all day and this is maybe her third phone call. It's just really gotten to me, it's really bothering me, and it's beginning to bog down my sense of sleep and it really kills me. I stare at the phone, not reading the text she just sent me, unlock it and scroll around. I scroll around for a while until my eyes droop on their own and I finally fall asleep, two hours later.

I wake up to three messages from Santana at noon. Man, I never oversleep like that. I semi-rub the sleep from my eyes and open the phone.

_Good morning, sunshine._

Followed by,

_Have you woken up yet?_

Followed by,

_Give me a call whenever you wake up. I miss your face._

That's the one that got me out of the three. I smile and unlock my phone, scrolling through it to find her name. I put it up to my ear and wait.

"Good afternoon, sunshine," she answers.

"Good afternoon. Sorry, I had a rough time sleeping last night. I'm not even really awake right now," I yawn and I can hear her slightly chuckle.

"It sounds like it. You can call me back whenever you feel like you've gotten enough sleep. I know you've got it hard with your music career, your job, and this whole thing with Elizabeth in your ear," she says, a little sadly.

"No, no, now is good. You're way too understanding, do you know that? Let me just shower and get ready and I'll get back to you with whatever we'll do today, or we can plan something together."

"How about you don't get dressed or anything and I'll just come over and we can have a lazy day, you really need it and I want to see you, so this is a win-win," she's way too cute right now.

"You know, you're way cuter than the stories of Santana that Rachel and Kurt have told me," she scoffs into the phone.

"Well, then forget it. You can sit on your ass all day by yourself," I gasp and I hear her laugh into the phone, "I mean, you apparently like bitch Santana way more," I know she can see my expression through the phone.

"Just come over and you can yell at me face to face," I put my had over my eyes and laugh into the phone.

"I'll be there in a bit, I was on my way already," I pull off the sheets and make my way to the bathroom.

"See, way cuter," she scoffs and hangs up the phone. I toss my phone on the bed and walk over to the front of my apartment, unlocking the door for Santana so she can get in while I shower. This building is much safer than most would think of an apartment in New York. I send her a quick text that the apartment is open and go into the shower. I finish my shower and upon leaving the shower, I see her sitting across the apartment, nose in a poetry anthology of mine, "I got that in high school,"she freaks out and all but throws the book onto the coffee table, "poetry isn't that scary. I got it back in high school when I wanted to be a poet. I was reading Richard Cory by Edwin Arlington Robinson and fell in love, then I heard a musical version by Simon and Garfunkel and was mind blown. That's when I wanted to be a musician instead," she picks the anthology back up and scrolls through the index for Richard Cory. She glances at me and flips to the page.

"I didn't know you liked poetry so much. Well, enough to want to make a career of it," she reads through the stanzas.

"There's still a lot you don't know about me, babe," she closes the anthology and smiles at me.

"I like that," she stares at me, that smile still on her face.

"Yeah, I really liked it way back when. It was my first look at modern poetry. Well, modern poetry being from the early 20th century," I start.

"Yeah, that too. But I mean, 'babe'. I like it. I like the way you say it," she blushes and I toss my towel into the hallways hamper and make my way towards her.

"You'll be hearing a lot more of it now then," I give her a hello kiss and sit next to her, "I really wanted to make something out of myself but music seemed to stand out way more when I realized that it was basically musical poetry," I wrap my arm around her, "I have some of my old stuff lying around. Well, older than what I'm writing today," I start sifting through some notebooks and papers inside the coffee table. That's when my phone rang, an unknown number, "Hello?" I answer.

"May I please speak to Danielle Stoker, please?" said a sweet sounding woman on the other line.

"Speaking," I put the phone on speaker when I see Santana give me curious look.

"Hi, this is Marianne Margaret from the Oaks Beach diner, you contacted us a while back about openings?" she sounded really genuine, almost happy that I responded.

"Yes, my band wanted to play at your diner," I rephrase that, "Red Eddy, Red Edwards. We spoke once before about a potential opening in the future," I hear her smile through the phone and I see Santana grinning to herself.

"Well, it looks like we have an opening right now. We'd like for you to come in tonight to play for us. I apologize for it being such short notice," I smile ear to ear and Santana hugs me.

"It's not a problem at all, just allow me to let the others know. Can I call back at this number?" I'm sorting through my contacts, I can't contain the excitement. She says yes and we hang up shortly afterwards, "SANTANA. SANTANA I HAVE A SHOW. I HAVE A SHOW TONIGHT," I jump up on the couch and start calling Peter and Seth. Seth picks up first, "please tell me you have Peter with you, please say that you do," he asks why and I tell him the news. I can hear Peter in the background cheering and Saul telling the both of them to shut up. But then Seth something really interesting.

"So does this mean we have to call Eli? It's not like we have a bass player," that's right. That's fucking right. He's so right that it infuriates me. I stare over at Santana and she looks upset, but not mad, just disappointed almost. Man, I've worked hard to try and get her out of my relationship with Santana and the one thing that I want happens and I just need her help.

"It's what you want. I have no right to say no," I know she doesn't want me to but dammit, I really want to play this show.

"Baby," I start and she smiles and kisses me.

"I like hearing you say it but I know what you want to say. Do it, baby. It's what you've wanted, call her and ask if she can make it," I nod and say my goodbyes to the others, "just don't put her on speaker when you call," she grins and leans back into the chair. I click on Elizabeth's name on my contact list and put the phone up to my ear, just waiting. I don't want to call her. I don't. There has to be a talented bass player somewhere in the area who can learn our handful of songs in the next few hours. I can't keep doing this to Santana. I can't keep expecting her to just be okay with this.

"Hey, baby," I'm really glad that I didn't have it on speaker, "what can I do you for?" she asks. Again, I'm glad it's not on speaker.

"I have a favor to ask. I need you," I start before I realize that I shouldn't have phrased it like that at all. I hear her on the other line.

"Oh, babe. I knew you'd turn around sooner or later," I grimace and I can paint exactly what this night will be like in my head.


	7. Chapter 7

I've recently decided to focus more on poetry as it's my new years resolution to publish a short book of my poetry. It's going to be a little tough to update this story with that going on so, heads up. Also, I'd like to address the handful of reviews, thanks, man. It's really rad that you go out of your way to say nice things so, much obliged. One last thing, I address Dani to be more of a grunge/punk/surf musician as opposed to how Demi Lovato's music is. I want to give variety to what people might think Dani listens to. The songs included are part of my personal collection of poetry and songs unless stated otherwise.

Reviews are appreciated.

None of this is mine minus the general story.

* * *

Well, fuck. I'm getting ready for this gig tonight and all that's on my mind is how Elizabeth is going to react the entire time she knows that Santana isn't within arms reach. Sometimes she can be a real crazy bitch.

"I'm going to hear you guys live," Santana starts. She's leaning against the door frame to my bathroom, watching me through the mirror, "I mean, I heard you that one practice I went to but this is real. I'll see your real adrenaline," I laugh as I apply eyeliner.

"Don't excite yourself too much. I get into it but it's really no different than the practices. Now, just wait until I'm playing at Wembley Stadium or the Staples Center," she chuckles and crosses her arms.

"They'll make little figures of you in no time," we both laugh.

"It's my dream, you know. I want to be the band that kids wish they can open for, that people buy my discography thirty years later and tell their friends, 'yeah, this is my favorite band," she shifts off of the door frame towards me and wraps her arms around my waist, resting her chin on my shoulder.

"I know. I know it's your dream," she stares as I continue, moving onto my mascara.

"We used to practice all the time, way more than now. We'd do covers, tons of covers. It's just harder to squeeze them in now, the practices," she frowns.

"Well, what's stopping you?" she asks. The million dollar question.

"It's not what's stopping me, at least, not anymore. Work got in the way and my roommates moved out so I needed to be able to make payments and working the few hours that I was just wasn't cutting it anymore," I finish up and turn around in her arms, "we should get going, at least practice a little while we're there," I walk past her and I know she was waiting for a different answer, but I don't really want to give it to her right now. I go into my room and start packing away my guitars, for different songs, and the different foot pedals for each one. Santana sort of just stands there, unsure of what to do with herself. I sling the bags over my shoulder and walk up to her, giving her a kiss on the cheek before walking past her and grabbing my keys from the counter, waving at her to follow. We leave the apartment hand in hand, heading towards the studio where the rest of the equipment is. When we get there, Elizabeth is the only one there, most of the equipment having already been taken out by the others.

"Hey there, babe; Santana," at least she regarded Santana. Santana scoffs loudly and I can see Elizabeth's smile growing. I don't acknowledge her after that and grab my microphone and the stand before quickly making my way out, hearing Elizabeth chuckle as I do so.

"It's really beginning to piss me off the way that she talks to you," I squeeze her hand and kiss her on the cheek.

"She's just trying to make you crack by dropping names and words when she feels like you'll be at your most vulnerable," She lifts her eyebrows and takes a deep breath, "you don't know her like I do. She can be almost crazy sometimes," we get to the diner and we can already see Peter and Seth setting up on a small stage deep within the restaurant.

"Eli's still at the studio, grabbing some last minute pedals and tuning the bass," they nod their heads and set down the amps and pedals. I have Santana sit at a table close by and start opening the guitar cases to set them on their stands for when I need them. Shortly after I've finished placing them, I can see Elizabeth make her way inside, her own bags and cases slung on her shoulder. She doesn't waste any time in emptying out her instrument so we can at least play a practice song before we start, maybe do a short jam 're all set up and I blow into the mic, checking to see if it works. I grab the acoustic guitar and make a motion to get the others to huddle around me, "okay, I know it's been a while but we'll just do the same set we always do, with the 'Evil Hearted You' cover at the very end," I strum a random chord to test the sound in the blocked off part of the restaurant specifically for shows; completely sound proof to the rest of the restaurant. We all adjust our volumes and sounds to the best of our ability until Santana verifies it from her end of the audience. I strum the first few chords to a song and we play together for a bit, playing random things that match until Marianne appears from a back room.

"I'm glad you were all able to make it, I'm really grateful for it. We'll be letting people in in about thirty minutes and you can take as long as you want, you're our only show tonight. Just don't exceed past midnight, that's when we close," giving us our instructions, we continue our little medley until people start shuffling in, one after the other, and I can see Santana shift a little in her seat. I give her an apologetic look and once the area is filled, I make my way over to the microphone.

"Hey, thank you for coming out tonight. We're Red Edwards," I start to strum the beginning of a song, "this is 'Vomit," I hum a little before beginning.

_Why'd you do this to me? Go away, I'm still here._

_Can't you see I'm green? You should have died like all my other peers._

_So, hello._

_Can you come here right now? No I can't, I'm vomiting._

_There's a blood stain on my pants. I should have left like everyone else._

_So, hello._

_Can you tell me where you went? I don't know, I can't see._

_There's a green sign to my left. I should have never followed you home._

_So, hello._

It ends and there's a generous applause that fills the room. Looking back, I see Elizabeth, Peter, and Seth beaming with excitement. I strum the guitar again and Elizabeth starts with her bass line.

_My friend fell in the ocean; she was swallowed by the sea_

_She had tried hard to be lazy; she had tried hard to be me_

_So I waited until the day that she drifted to the shore_

_I was trying hard to find her until I couldn't find no more_

_I tried hard not to care, but I was feeling kind of down_

_So I tried to find the king so I could please borrow his crown_

_But when I brought her up from hell, everyone started to cry_

_I was casting miracles and when they asked, I said I'd try_

_So I tried to find the king so I could give him back his crown_

_And try to find a way again to make my best friend drown_

_So we drove up to a cliff and I jumped out of the car_

_But when she started screaming, she already was too far_

_And when she hit the water, everyone had just dropped dead_

_And so continued life, at least the one that I had led_

It got more praise from the audience, mind you, which was filled with an audience of all ages. It was nice. It felt nice to be appreciated for a moment, after a song that actually brought someone joy. Not the best place to be playing this kind of music, but it was a chance. The evening continues like that, just music and laughter. After a while, we ran out of songs to play and we finished our set. We put down our instruments and walked off stage to a back door that led to a hallway that turned back into the restaurant. There were people there, there were people literally waiting there to talk to us, Santana among the bodies. She didn't approach me though, and I was grateful. I was basking in what it is to be well known, to be liked, to be famous. These people wanted to hear me, wanted to hear more of me, and were already asking when would be the next time we would play somewhere. We all shrugged and nodded our heads. We didn't have an answer. After a while, after a few exchanged numbers, and after a few promises to meet up again, the crowd slowly diminishes and Elizabeth speaks up.

"So, it looks while we'll be seeing a lot more of each other then," she smirks, that's right. I see Santana disapprove in her silent little way, and I know what needs to be said.

"No, no, we wont be," Seth and Peter turn around quickly after making uncomfortable faces at one another and head for the stage, "you can't go into this so easily. You've been making me miserable for who knows how long and now I'm supposed to be super cool with this?" she smirks and opens her mouth to try and speak, "no, stop smirking, stop thinking whatever fucking smart-ass comment you were going to make. Thanks for being here, but we don't need you. I don't need you," she rolls her eyes and crosses her arms, getting ready to storm out of the place, "no, don't walk away," I start angrily, but she keeps walking. I look over at Santana and she nods her head to go follow Elizabeth. I don't start calling her name until she's already left the building, I don't want to make a scene, "Elizabeth, come on. I want to talk to you," she stops and speed walks back at me, a good two blocks away form the diner, and kisses me hard.

"I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry for hurting you, I'm sorry for leaving you, and I'm sorry for leaving the band, okay?" she kisses me again and I'm shocked, but not shocked enough not push her away, "it was a mistake, this is all a mistake. I love you, Dani. She doesn't know you like I do. I love you more than I ever could," she's staring angrily at me, then looks down at my hands wrapped around her wrists.

"I love you too, I do. I have someone new in my life. I have someone who I can see myself potentially loving," she scoffs, "and pulls her wrists out of my hands, "but I can't be with her if you keep acting the way that you have been."

"I've lost you as a girlfriend, but I don't think I can handle losing you as a friend," she starts, "I need to think about all this. You need to understand that I can't see you with Santana, it hurts too much," she shoves her hands in her pockets, "it hurts to know that there's someone doing a better job than me," she looks down and continues, "but I don't want to be the one who breaks down your dream of being a musician, of being in a famous band and honestly, who can you find better than me as a bassist," she's calming down a little bit, the red in her face has diminished to a soft pink, "just, let me think about everything, okay?" I nod my head and before anything else can be said, she turns around and starts walking away. I make my way back to the diner, my hands in my pocket.


	8. Chapter 8

Hey, guys. Back again, finally. It's been a hectic week but in good news, I had my poetry book published. It's called 'Queen of Frowns' and as of now it will only be available through Amazon. I would recommend getting it but then again, I have no idea what your views on poetry are and whether any of you would find my poems any good. Back to this story, though. I hope you all like it but honestly, the reviews are getting to me. Well, the lack of reviews. I'd like to really get opinions on it, I want to know what you think.

Reviews are appreciated.

None of this is mine minus the general story.

* * *

We're at my house, sitting on the couch in complete silence. It's been this way ever since we came back from the diner, a good three hours ago. None of us have said anything, but we're both awake, we're both wrapped in each other's arms. I feel her breath heavily and I can feel her mouth move.

"I'm sorry," she starts. I acknowledge that she said it, but I don't speak, I really need to think on all of this, "it may not be the best thing to say, but I'm sorry," I raise my hand from her side and rest it on her back, drawing patterns around it.

"It's just hard, that's all. You don't have to be sorry about anything," we don't move for a while more before she starts up again.

"I know, I had myself an Elizabeth once. Except, one day, she just stopped following me. I miss her every day," I continue to rub her back before it hit me, we've never talked about anyone from her hometown. We've never sat down and just talked about her, it's always been about me.

"Baby, I should be apologizing," she looks up, resting her chin on my shoulder, "this whole time we've been together, it's all been about me. About my dreams, about my ex-girlfriend, about me," she turns her head again and continues laying on my chest, "and I want to change that because right now, it's all about you. It's not me anymore, it's us," i move my hand to the back of her head and we stay quiet for a while longer. Just lying there, collecting our thoughts, and she turns her head again, towards me.

"Then, do you want to hear about her?" I smile because in all honesty, I don't. I don't want to hear about her ex, I don't want to hear about how she misses her or about how she wishes she was still with her. But she's had to deal with me and Elizabeth this whole time.

"Of course," I smile at her and she smiles sadly in return. Before another second, I can already tell that she's asleep. I mean, it is close to four in the morning and we lie there for just a little while longer until I realize how much our bodies will ache unless we move to the bed. I tap her on the back to no avail and opt for moving myself in hopes of waking her up. After a lot of hard work, I carry her to her side of the bed and make my way to mine, and we fall asleep.

I wake up and Santana's already up, leaning against my headboard, looking down at a her phone.

"Good morning, sunshine," I whisper in my tired form.

"Good morning, baby," she puts her phone down and leans over to kiss me.

"I think we should do this sleep over thing every single day," she smiles at me and slips deeper in the covers, laying down.

"I have a surprise for you," she smiles, "but I can't tell you what it is. You'll find out later," I open my mouth and furrow my brows.

"You can't do that! You have to tell me!" she laughs and makes her way out of the bed.

"Then you'll really hate that you're the only person who doesn't know," I sit up and stare at her.

"What do you mean I'm the only person who doesn't know? How many people do you know?!" I flip the covers over and run around the bed. As she hears me, she starts running, taking refuge behind the couch where it turns into a, 'who can run around this thing faster,' game. Then my phone rings. Man, there's a lot of phones ringing as of late, "you lucky bitch," she sticks her tongue out at me and jumps over the couch to lay on it. I grab my phone, an unknown number, "I'll get back to you on this," I put the phone to my ear and greet the caller.

"Hi, may I please speak to Danielle Stoker?" asked the other line.

"Speaking," I answer.

"Good morning, Danielle. My name is Marianne Morris from Black Album Records located in New York City. I'd like to talk to you in regards to a concert you had last night at a local diner," Santana has her eyes trained on her phone and I take a seat on the la-z-boy across from her, "we received a video entry of the performance and might I say that my team and I were impressed. Although most of the songs were cover renditions, they were done very well," I thank her and she continues, "I was hoping you and your team can meet up with me and my team sometime this week or at your earliest convenience to talk," I'm practically jumping in my chair at this point. I want to cry and scream all at the same time.

"Yeah, yeah. That sounds great. I'll have a talk with my band mates and we'll get back to you about our earliest convenience. Do I call back at this number or via email?" we agree that either will work and we say our goodbyes and hang up. Santana hasn't looked up from her phone at all, but I know she knows. I know she did it, and she knows how happy I am.

"I think you should call the others," she says. She looks up at me and gives me a shit eating grin. I put the phone down on the table and walk over to her and sit down on the other end of the couch so she can rest her feet on my lap.

"I would. But you've already done that, haven't you," she smiles and nods her head, "baby, why are you being so kind to me? We've only been together for a little under three weeks," she looks up at the ceiling and thinks about her response.

"Because you deserve to be happy," she chooses.

"And what of your happiness? What makes you happy?" she looks back up at the ceiling and thinks about her response again.

"You being happy," she responds.

"You never did tell me. About her. That girl," she looks me in the eye and purses her lips.

"Her name was Brittany. We met when we were kids, back in Lima. She was so quirky and delicate; so different and so bright," she stops to collect her thoughts, "we grew up together. All of us, the guys from Glee, the girls from the Cheerios. If we were the same age, we knew each other; that's how small Lima was. Well, is. Everyone made fun of Brittany because she saw things differently; she said things in a way only she could really understand, and it was beautiful. People said she was dumb, that she was stupid, and they were all wrong," she stops again, furrowing her brows, "and then we get to middle school, and everything gets different, everything becomes about boys and cheer leading. I dated buys and she dated boys, but I hated it when she dated boys and who was I to say that she couldn't date whoever she wanted? Who was I to say, 'no, not him because I don't like him?' But then it hit me that it wasn't that I didn't like them, I just didn't like them with anyone but me. I started dating the guy, Puck, Noah Puckerman, really to forget about how much I really cared for her, how much Brittany really meant to me," she stops and gets up, beginning to pace the area in front of the couch, "and that lasted up until high school. I got into the chearleading squad at McKinley and I became a bitch, I became a cold-hearted bitch like the rest of them. The rest of them except Brittany, who was a constant reminder that I'm not a bitch, that I'm capable of loving someone so much, so deeply. I broke it off with Puck after starting high school and I became closer to my cheerleaders, specifically Quinn and Brittany, I'll fill you in on names and faces another day. We joined Glee as part of some plan our coach had to take down the Glee club for whatever reason, and we ended up liking it, and staying without any of the sabotage. There, Brittany met Artie, a kid in a wheelchair who liked pretty girls. They started dating and I just wasn't myself. I thought I finally had her close enough, at an age where she would just pick up on how I felt for her. But like I said, she was different, she though different. I told her how I felt and that was that, she wasn't breaking up with him until finally, finally, I had my advantage when he called her stupid. I knew that was her weak point and I took advantage of it. Shortly afterwards, I told her about everything, about my feelings, about my desires, about everything. I was outed to the school, I was gay, ad Brittany loved me, loved me as more than her friend. She loved me as her girlfriend, and we spent the rest of high school like that. But then graduation came, and she failed senior year. I was determined to stay with her, I was determined to stay in Lima until she graduated, but she didn't want that for me. She wanted me out of Lima, she wanted me to be away from everything that ever hurt me, and she applied for me at University of Louisiana on a cheerleading scholarship because of that. I was so grateful, so immensely happy, but I didn't want to leave her. My absence made me make a stupid decision and I broke up with her and told her it was okay to date different people, and she did just that. I went back and it was already over between us, she loved Sam. There was nothing I could do. I dropped out of college and told myself that I had to forget Brittany and wanted to follow my dream of being a famous singer, a vocalist with a crazy vocal capacity, come to New York and make something out of myself. In honor of her, and I can never forget her," she's still pacing, still trying to figure out what she wants to say, "this is all a very general understanding of our relationship, but I love her. I'll always love her, but then I met you. I see myself capable of loving you, but Brittany is always there, always in the back of my mind, always gnawing at my thoughts," she stops her pacing and lifts her arms, raises her shoulders, and then drops her arms at her side, "and that's it," she says, tears in her eyes. I motion for her to come over to the couch, arms open.

"Thank you," is all I can really say.

"You deserve the truth, and you deserve to be happy. I want to give you both of those things," she sits on my lap and rests her head on my shoulder, "and I want to be more than just capable of loving you," she says.


	9. Chapter 9

Back again. It's been pretty killer, this past week. I'll get back into this a little more seriously by next week. It's finals week so things are pretty lame right now.

Reviews are appreciated.

None of this is mine except for the general story.

* * *

It's been a few days now since Santana belted her heart out at me about Brittany. We've seen each other pretty briefly since then, really just at work and the occasional time she spends afterwards to watch a movie or something. It's just us lying together on the couch, occasionally changing the channel on the tv to something a little more interesting than an infomercial. It's about 4:30 in the afternoon and none of us have brought up anything about a few days ago. But in my defense, what am I supposed to say? "Oh, that sucks"? "Sorry about that stuff"? It's a little difficult to not say something that might ruin the day after an exposure like that.

"You can talk, you know," Santana suddenly says.

"Get out of my head," I say back to her. She turns her body around, her front pressed against mine, and she stares me in the eye.

"What do you want to do today?" She then gestures the area, "just this?"

"We can do other things. Like eat, or shower, maybe do some of the laundry you keep leaving here," she then rolls her eyes and turns back around, "or you can go back to your place and get your clothes and make an even bigger mess over here," I kiss the back of her neck, "then get your toiletries and make a mess of the bathroom," I kiss her ear, "then you can bring the stuff from your room and make a huge mess of the place," she lays there for a moment more, flipping through our usual channels.

"Or you can stop being a bitch and we can get ready to do nothing," she gets up and stretches her arms back. I sit up to lean on my arm.

"No, I'm totally serious. Minus all the mess stuff," she turns around mid stretch and cocks an eyebrow at me, "I think you should start grabbing some of your stuff to bring over here. You know, stuff you'll need," she smiles this shit-eating grin.

"Are you asking me to move in with you?" she asks. My face turns red and I think I reacted a little too quickly.

"No! No, no, I mean, if you want to, yeah, sure. But, like, it's just an idea," she rolls her eyes and grins.

"Okay then," and she drops the subject, my heart is ready to fall out of my butthole, "I'm going to shower, find yourself some clothes. Let's walk around or something," she heads over to my bathroom and shuts the door. Once I hear the door close, I commence my freaking out. I get up and shake my hands and just freak out, on my own. I pretty much asked her to move in and we haven't even been dating a month yet. My phone vibrates in the room and I'm freaking out way too much to really pay attention to that. I stop my freaking out because hey, that could be pretty important. I walk over and the screen glows with the message, _Hey, gorgeous :)_, from Elizabeth. NOT NOW ELIZABETH. I can hear the shower go on and I remember that I should be getting dressed. I pull on some random clothes, clothes that I wouldn't mind being seen in, and fester on the bed, rethinking a few minutes ago over and over. It's times like these that I wish I had a girl friend to talk to, to share my opinions, to talk about other girls. I look over at the phone once more. No, Santana wouldn't like that. The shower is still going on in the background and the idea of messaging back seems more and more tempting. Before I can really think, though, I have my phone in my hand and I'm reading a message that I just sent to Elizabeth saying, _I need your help_. The shower turns off and I immediately regret my decision. My phone rings again.

_Yeah?_

I shouldn't be asking her for anything. I mean, I don't want to make her uncomfortable or anything, but I need another girl to talk to. There's only so much that a band of boys can help you with. I ignore the message for now, I can find something to answer back with later.

"Ready to go?" she's brushing her hair as she walks into the room, giving me a kiss on the cheek. I gesture to my toothbrush and make my way to the bathroom, making sure to bring my phone with me.

_Did you hear about the record label?_

I turn on the faucet and wet my toothbrush. I brush my teeth and wash my face.

_Sure did ;) that was nice of her_

I open the door and smile at Santana who's putting on her makeup in the vanity mirror.

"What did you want to do today?" I ask, "did you want to see if the others are free to do this record label meet?" she looks at me through the mirror and smiles.

"I think you should call to see if everyone is free on Friday. Asking everyone today and then calling Marianne the same day seems a little rushed. I mean, it's going to be dinner soon," I check my watch, oh yeah, it's almost 5:30, "let's just walk around for a bit, maybe get something to eat," she looks back at her reflection. My phone vibrates again.

_Stop walking around the issue. You said you needed help._

Santana finished and we made our way out of the apartment, hand in hand, walking down the sidewalk. But then I notice something, Santana starts to take lead of the walk. I take a moment to text back.

_Santana help._

She starts to lead us through people, weaving us through a crowd that's started to form on a busier street, and we're still walking ten minutes later when my pocket vibrates again.

_I think you should be talking to Santana about that._

We're still walking and it feels like it's been forever.

"Where are we going?" I finally ask. I feel like I deserve to ask.

"Nowhere. Just stay quiet for a minute. Hypothetically, if we were going somewhere, I'd think we were lost so just give me a second," she's way better at her words than I am. She's got this confused look on her face as she tries to figure out exactly where she wants to go.

"If you give me a street name, I can point in that direction," she whips her head to face me with her eyebrows furrowed, "or we can stand in the middle of the sidewalk. Whatever floats your boat," she looks down and purses her lips for a second.

"48th street," I smile and nod, point ahead in the direction she was already walking. She smiles and continues to lead us. I don't really recognize this part of town, only that we've been walking forever which furthers my point since walking just isn't my thing. Or at least not long distances. We continue walking when we stop at an alleyway, dark and empty, Santana decides that it's a great idea for us to walk in.

"Babe, absolutely none of this looks like we aren't going to get raped or murdered," she turns back to me and smiles, still leading us to our doom. We walk down the hallway of death before Santana opens up a door on our right, because we walked this far for her to decide that we're breaking in someones house. I cant ask her though, I'm way too curious for myself if tonight is the night that I either get arrested or murdered. We walk down a dimly lit hallway and I can hear the distinct chatter of others in the same building. Santana opens another door and I see that we're inside some kind of restaurant. There are only a few people around and honestly, it really looks as though someone put a ton of chairs and tables inside of their living room for a family reunion.

"This is it," she walks over to an empty table and pulls out a chair for me before seating herself. I suck in my lips, furrow my eyebrows, and lean forward.

"I don't know where 'this' is," she smiles and leans forward.

"It's a story I haven't told you just yet," I lean back and accept the answer as our waiter hovers over us, handing each of us a menu before asking us what we wanted to drink. He leaves and I take a look at the menu, "a few weeks ago," she starts and I look up, "when we first met, more like a month and a half ago, I thought you were the biggest bitch. My god, I really just didn't like you and I had no idea how to tell you," I roll my eyes and cross my arms, smiling at her, "I would leave work miserable and afraid for the next day, and I would walk around town so that Kurt and Rachel wouldn't see how upset I was. I walked around enough until I came here. It's nothing special, I didn't meet anyone or see anything or do anything here that made it very significant. I would just come here a lot," I nod for her to continue, "then we began to be together a little bit more. We starts hanging out more, then you asked me to be your girlfriend and you let me into your life. In turn, I led you into mine," the waiter came back and took our orders. Afterwards, Santana put up her hand and told me that it'll just have to wait until we've finished eating.

"Sorry, you've just made me curious," I smile into my drink.

"Well, then part of my idea is working," we get our food and eat, having small conversation every now and then before she pays the bill and we get up to leave. Holding my hand as we walk along the sidewalk, she continues talking, "I'd come here all the time, usually by taxi because I never found it again by foot since that first day, and I'd just talk to the the employees about you, never by name, just about you. They'd close and I'd find myself wanting to talk about you to someone, so I'd walk around until I found this park," lo and behold, we were at a park and I didn't even notice, "I'd sit here and text the others that I was fine, that I'm with some friends, always lying to them, and I'd just sit here and think about you," i continue listening on while we sit at a bench, "which was the weird part because I never do that, I never do this, I never show my feelings or my emotions and I just hope everyone can figure out what's happening in my head. But I'd think about you all the time and think about all the things I want to tell you and all the things I want to experience with you," she stops talking about it for a few seconds.

"I'm confused," I suddenly say. I don't think I am, but this is all a little too cryptic for me.

"I'm in love with you, Dani. I'm really in love with you and it's weird saying it out loud since I practiced a hundred times for this moment. I want to help you pursue your dreams. I want to be there when you have your first tour, your first single, your first meet and greet. I want to be there for all the good and all of the bad and it's just a feeling that I have that completely takes my whole body just at the thought of your name. I really love you," she hasn't looked at me at all throughout all of that. She keeps looking forward, her face showing just how difficult it was to say all of that.

"You know, I fell in love with you the moment Marianne called about the record label. Not because you helped me, but because you went out of your way to make me happy, to allow me to follow my dream. You didn't pay attention to distractions, to the people around us, just me, just my feelings, my thoughts. I used to think I was completely incompetent with being capable of loving someone. You've proved me wrong, and I love you," I look up towards her and she has soft tears rolling down her face.

"Well, good. I'm glad we're on the same page," she looks over to me and smiles.

"Catchphrase of the year," I respond, and we sit there, just welcoming each others feelings.


End file.
